The document presents a study on the modeling and simulation of a Distribution Static Compensator (DSTATCOM) aimed at improving power quality in distribution networks by compensating for reactive power and harmonics caused by non-linear loads. It highlights the importance of addressing voltage dips, a prevalent power quality issue, and details the construction and control strategies of the DSTATCOM using MATLAB/Simulink for simulations. The results demonstrate the DSTATCOM's effectiveness in voltage regulation, load balancing, and power factor correction under different loading conditions.

1. International Journal of Engineering Research and Development
ISSN: 2278-067X, Volume 1, Issue 12 (July 2012), PP.33-40
www.ijerd.com
Modeling & Simulation of DSTATCOM for Power Quality
Improvement
N.Srinivasa Rao1, Dr G.V.Siva Krishna Rao2
1
Associate professor, Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Sri sai Aditya institute of Science
and Technology , Surampalem,E.G.District A.P, India.
2
Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Andhra university, visakhapatnam ,A.P, India.
Abstract––A Power quality problem is an occurrence manifested as a nonstandard voltage, current or frequency that
results in a failure or a mis-operation of end user equipments. Utility distribution networks, sensitive industrial loads and
critical commercial operations suffer from various types of outages and service interruptions which can cost significant
financial losses. With the restructuring of power systems and with shifting trend towards distributed and dispersed
generation, the issue of power quality is going to take newer dimensions. In developing countries like India, where the
variation of power frequency and many such other determinants of power quality are themselves a serious question, it is
very vital to take positive steps in this direction .This paper presents a study on the modeling of a STATCOM (Static
Synchronous Compensator) used for reactive power compensation on a distribution network. This paper deals with the
simulation of distribution static synchronous compensator (DSTATCOM) for improving power quality of a distribution
system feeding linear as well as non-linear loads. Nowadays, there are an increasing number of non-linear loads which
inject harmonics into the system. A three-phase insulated gate bipolar transistor- (IGBT-) based current controlled
voltage source inverter with a DC bus capacitor known as a DSTATCOM is used for power factor correction, harmonic
compensation and for providing required reactive power to the load. A model of DSTATCOM connected to a power
distribution system feeding linear and non-linear loads (diode bridge rectifier with R and R-C) is developed for predicting
the behavior of system under transient conditions. Simulation is carried out in standard MATLAB environment using
Simulink and power system blockset toolboxes. Finally the performance of DSTATCOM under various fault conditions is
investigated.
Keywords––D-STATCOM, Voltage Sags, Voltage Source Converter (VSC).
I. INTRODUCTION
One of the most common power quality problems today is voltage dips. A voltage dip is a short time (10 ms to 1
minute) event during which a reduction in r.m.s voltage magnitude occurs. It is often set only by two parameters,
depth/magnitude and duration. The voltage dip magnitude is ranged from 10% to 90% of nominal voltage (which
corresponds to 90% to 10% remaining voltage) and with a duration from half a cycle to 1 min. In a three-phase system a
voltage dip is by nature a three-phase phenomenon, which affects both the phase-to-ground and phase-to-phase voltages. A
voltage dip is caused by a fault in the utility system, a fault within the customer‟s facility or a large increase of the loa d
current, like starting a motor or transformer energizing. Typical faults are single-phase or multiple-phase short circuits,
which leads to high currents. The high current results in a voltage drop over the network impedance. At the fault location the
voltage in the faulted phases drops close to zero, whereas in the non-faulted phases it remains more or less unchanged [1, 2].
Voltage dips are one of the most occurring power quality problems. Off course, for an industry an outage is worse,
than a voltage dip, but voltage dips occur more often and cause severe problems and economical losses. Utilities often focus
on disturbances from end-user equipment as the main power quality problems. This is correct for many disturbances, flicker,
harmonics, etc., but voltage dips mainly have their origin in the higher voltage levels. Faults due to lightning, is one of the
most common causes to voltage dips on overhead lines. If the economical losses due to voltage dips are significant,
mitigation actions can be profitable for the customer and even in some cases for the utility. Since there is no standard
solution which will work for every site, each mitigation action must be carefully planned and evaluated. There are different
ways to mitigate voltage dips, swell and interruptions in transmission and distribution systems. At present, a wide range of
very flexible controllers, which capitalize on newly available power electronics components, are emerging for custom power
applications [3, 4]. Among these, the distribution static compensator and the dynamic voltage restorer are most effective
devices, both of them based on the VSC principle.
STATCOM is often used in transmission system. When it is used in distribution system, it is called D-STATCOM
（STATCOM in Distribution system). D-STATCOM is a key FACTS controller and it utilizes power electronics to solve
many power quality problems commonly faced by distribution systems. Potential applications of D-STATCOM include
power factor correction, voltage regulation, load balancing and harmonic reduction. Comparing with the SVC, the D-
STATCOM has quicker response time and compact structure.
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2. Modeling & Simulation of DSTATCOM for Power Quality Improvement
It is expected that the D-STATCOM will replace the roles of SVC in near future. D-STATCOM and STATCOM
are different in both structure and function, while the choice of control strategy is related to the main-circuit structure and
main function of compensators [3], so D-STATCOM and STATCOM adopt different control strategy. At present, the use of
STATCOM is wide and its strategy is mature, while the introduction of D-STATCOM is seldom reported. Many control
techniques are reported such as instantaneous reactive power theory (Akagi et al., 1984), power balance theory, etc. In this
paper, an indirect current control technique (Singh et al., 2000a,b) is employed to obtain gating signals for the Insulated Gate
Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) devices used in current controlled voltage source inverter (CC-VSI) working as a DSTATCOM.
A model of DSTATCOM is developed using MATLAB for investigating the transient analysis of distribution system under
balanced/unbalanced linear and non-linear three-phase and single-phase loads (diode rectifier with R and R-C load).
Simulation results during steady-state and transient operating conditions of the DSTATCOM are presented and discussed to
demonstrate power factor correction, harmonic elimination and load balancing capabilities of the DSTATCOM system [5-
10].
II. DISTRIBUTION STATIC COMPENSATOR (D-STATCOM)
2.1 Principle of DSTATCOM
A D-STATCOM (Distribution Static Compensator), which is schematically depicted in Fig.1, consists of a two-
level Voltage Source Converter (VSC), a dc energy storage device, a coupling transformer connected in shunt to the
distribution network through a coupling transformer. The VSC converts the dc voltage across the storage device into a set of
three-phase ac output voltages. These voltages are in phase and coupled with the ac system through the reactance of the
coupling transformer. Suitable adjustment of the phase and magnitude of the D-STATCOM output voltages allows effective
control of active and reactive power exchanges between the DSTATCOM and the ac system. Such configuration allows the
device to absorb or generate controllable active and reactive power.
The VSC connected in shunt with the ac system provides a multifunctional topology which can be used for up to
three quite distinct purposes:
1. Voltage regulation and compensation of reactive power;
2. Correction of power factor; and
3. Elimination of current harmonics.
Here, such device is employed to provide continuous voltage regulation using an indirectly controlled converter.
Figure. 1 DSTATCOM
Fig. 1 the shunt injected current Ish corrects the voltage sag by adjusting the voltage drop across the system
impedance Zth. The value of Ish can be controlled by adjusting the output voltage of the converter. The shunt injected current
Ish can be written as,
Ish = IL – IS = IL – ( Vth – VL ) / Zth
Ish /_η = IL /_- θ
The complex power injection of the D-STATCOM can be expressed as,
Ssh = VL Ish*
It may be mentioned that the effectiveness of the DSTATCOM in correcting voltage sag depends on the value of
Zth or fault level of the load bus. When the shunt injected current Ish is kept in quadrature with VL, the desired voltage
correction can be achieved without injecting any active power into the system. On the other hand, when the value of Ish is
minimized, the same voltage correction can be achieved with minimum apparent power injection into the system.
2.2 Voltage Source Converter (VSC)
A voltage-source converter is a power electronic device that connected in shunt or parallel to the system. It can
generate a sinusoidal voltage with any required magnitude, frequency and phase angle. The VSC used to either completely
replace the voltage or to inject the „missing voltage‟. The „missing voltage‟ is the difference between the nominal voltage
and the actual. It also converts the DC voltage across storage devices into a set of three phase AC output voltages [8, 9]. In
addition, D-STATCOM is also capable to generate or absorbs reactive power. If the output voltage of the VSC is greater
than AC bus terminal voltages, D-STATCOM is said to be in capacitive mode. So, it will compensate the reactive power
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3. Modeling & Simulation of DSTATCOM for Power Quality Improvement
through AC system and regulates missing voltages. These voltages are in phase and coupled with the AC system through the
reactance of coupling transformers. Suitable adjustment of the phase and magnitude of the DSTATCOM output voltages
allows effectives control of active and reactive power exchanges between D-STATCOM and AC system. In addition, the
converter is normally based on some kind of energy storage, which will supply the converter with a DC voltage [10].
2.3 Controller for DSTATCOM
The three-phase reference source currents are computed using three-phase AC voltages (vta, vtb and vtc) and DC
bus voltage (Vdc) of DSTATCOM. These reference supply currents consist of two components, one in-phase (Ispdr) and
another in quadrature (Ispqr) with the supply voltages. The control scheme is represented in Fig. 2. The basic equations of
control algorithm of DSTATCOM are as follows.
2.3.1 Computation of in-phase components of reference supply current
The instantaneous values of in-phase component of reference supply currents (Ispdr) is computed using one PI
controller over the average value of DC bus voltage of the DSTATCOM (vdc) and reference DC voltage (vdcr) as
where Vde(n) VdccVdcn) denotes the error in Vdcc and average value of Vdc Kpd and Kid are proportional and
-
integral gains of the DC bus voltage PI controller. The output of this PI controller (Ispdr) is taken as amplitude of in-phase
component of the reference supply currents. Three-phase in-phase components of the reference supply currents (isadr, isbdr
and iscdr) are computed using the in-phase unit current vectors (ua, ub and uc) derived from the AC terminal voltages (vtan,
vtbn and vtcn), respectively.
where Vtm is amplitude of the supply voltage and it is computed as
The instantaneous values of in-phase component of reference supply currents (isadr, isbdr and iscdr) are computed as
2.3.2 Computation of quadrature components of reference supply current
The amplitude of quadrature component of reference supply currents is computed using a second PI controller over
the amplitude of supply voltage (vtm) and its reference value (vtmr)
whereVac= Vtmc-Vmc(n) denotes the error in Vtmc and computed value Vtmn from Equation (3) and Kpqand Kiq are the
proportional and integral gains of the second PI controller.
Three-phase quadrature components of the reference supply currents (isaqr, isbqr and iscqr) are computed using the output of
second PI controller (Ispqr) and quadrature unit current vectors (wa, wb and wc ) as
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4. Modeling & Simulation of DSTATCOM for Power Quality Improvement
Figure. 2 Control method for DTSATCOM
2.3 Computation of total reference supply currents
Three-phase instantaneous reference supply currents (isar, isbr and iscr) are computed by adding in-phase (isadr,
isbdr and iscdr) and quadrature components of supply currents (isaqr, isbqr and iscqr) as
A hysteresis pulse width modulated (PWM) current controller is employed over the reference (isar, isbr and iscr)
and sensed supply currents (isa, isb and isc) to generate gating pulses for IGBTs of DSTATCOM.
III. MATAB/SIMULINK MODELING OF DSTATCOM
3.1 Modeling of Power Circuit
Figure. 6 Matlab/Simulink Model of DSTATCOM Power Circuit
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5. Modeling & Simulation of DSTATCOM for Power Quality Improvement
Fig. 6 shows the complete MATLAB model of DSTATCOM along with control circuit. The power circuit as well
as control system are modelled using Power System Blockset and Simulink. The grid source is represented by three-phase
AC source. Three-phase AC loads are connected at the load end. DSTATCOM is connected in shunt and it consists of PWM
voltage source inverter circuit and a DC capacitor connected at its DC bus. An IGBT-based PWM inverter is implemented
using Universal bridge block from Power Electronics subset of PSB. Snubber circuits are connected in parallel with each
IGBT for protection. Simulation of DSTATCOM system is carried out for linear and non-linear loads. The linear load on the
system is modelled using the block three-phase parallel R-L load connected in delta configuration. The non-linear load on
the system is modelled using R and R-C circuits connected at output of the diode rectifier. Provision is made to connect
loads in parallel so that the effect of sudden load addition and removal is studied. The feeder connected from the three-phase
source to load is modelled using appropriate values of resistive and inductive components.
3.2 Modeling of Control Circuit
Figure below shows the control algorithm of DSTATCOM with two PI controllers. One PI controller regulates the
DC link voltage while the second PI controller regulates the terminal voltage at PCC. The in-phase components of
DSTATCOM reference currents are responsible for power factor correction of load and the quadrature components of supply
reference currents are to regulate the AC system voltage at PCC.
The output of PI controller over the DC bus voltage (Ispdr) is considered as the amplitude of the in-phase
component of supply reference currents and the output of PI controller over AC terminal voltage (Ispqr) is considered as the
amplitude of the quadrature component of supply reference currents. The instantaneous reference currents (isar, isbr and iscr)
are obtained by adding the in-phase supply reference currents (isadr, isbdr and iscdr) and quadrature supply reference
currents (isaqr, isbqr and iscqr). Once the reference supply currents are generated, a carrierless hysteresis PWM controller is
employed over the sensed supply currents (isa, isb and isc) and instantaneous reference currents (isar, isbr and iscr) to
generate gating pulses to the IGBTs of DSTATCOM. The controller controls the DSTATCOM currents to maintain supply
currents in a band around the desired reference current values. The hysteresis controller generates appropriate switching
pulses for six IGBTs of the VSI working as DSTATCOM.
IV. SIMULATION RESULTS
Here Simulation results are presented for four cases. In case one load is linear RL load, in case two non linear R
load, in case three non linear RC load, and in case four we have considered line disturbance like single line to ground fault
(SLG), without DSTATCOM and with DSTATCOM.
4.1 Case one
Performance of DSTATCOM connected to a weak supply system is shown in Fig.6 for power factor correction and
load balancing. This figure shows variation of performance variables such as supply voltages (vsa, vsb and vsc), terminal
voltages at PCC (vta, vtb and vtc), supply currents (isa, isb and isc), load currents (ila, ilb and ilc), DSTATCOM currents
(ica, icb and icc) and DC link voltage (Vdc) for load changes from 36 kW (three-phase) to two-phase (24 kW) to single-
phase (12 kW) to two-phase (24 kW) to three-phase (36 kW). The response shows that DSTATCOM balances unbalanced
loads either of single-phase or two-phase type and improves the power factor of AC source to unity under varying load.
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6. Modeling & Simulation of DSTATCOM for Power Quality Improvement
Supply currents (isa, isb and isc), compensator currents (ica, icb and icc) and DC bus voltage (vdc) settle to steady-state
values within a cycle for any type of change in load.
Figure. 7 Simulation results for Linear RL Load
Figure. 8 Simulation results power factor for Linear RL Load
4.2 Case two
Balanced three-phase non-linear load is represented by three-phase uncontrolled diode bridge rectifier with pure
resistive load at its DC bus. Fig. 9 shows the transient responses of distribution system with DSTATCOM for supply
voltages (vsabc), supply currents (isabc), load currents (ila, ilb and ilc), DSTATCOM currents (ica, icb and icc) along with
DC link voltage (Vdc) and its reference value (Vdcr) at rectifier nonlinear load.
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7. Modeling & Simulation of DSTATCOM for Power Quality Improvement
Figure. 9 Simulation results Non- Linear R Load
At t =0.16 sec, the DC load resistance is changed from 15 to 10 ohm to increase the loading thereby the power
absorbed changes from 21 to 30 kW. Consequently, load, supply and DSTATCOM currents increase to provide demanded
active and reactive power to the load. The increased load on the rectifier reflects in the form of undershoot in DC link
voltage. At t =0.26 sec, the load resistance is changed back to 15 ohm and an overshoot is observed now, which settles down
within a few cycles due to action of PI controller. Results show that the supply currents are balanced, sinusoidal and in-phase
with the supply voltages.
4.3 Case three
Fig. 10 shows, the transient waveforms of all performance variables of distribution system with DSTATCOM
supplying R-C load at the terminal of diode bridge rectifier. At t= 0.55 sec, DC link resistance of load is changed from 15 to
7.5ohm . The load has increased from 20 kW to 40 kW. It is observed that the DC bus voltage of DSTATCOM regulates
itself at its reference value and thus a self-supporting DC bus is obtained. The supply currents are sinusoidal even though the
load currents are non-linear in nature.
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8. Modeling & Simulation of DSTATCOM for Power Quality Improvement
Figure. 10 Simulation results Non- Linear RC Load
V. CONCLUSION
DSTATCOM system is an efficient mean for mitigation of PQ disturbances introduced to the grid by DERs.
DSTATCOM compensator is a flexible device which can operate in current control mode for compensating voltage
variation, unbalance and reactive power and in voltage control mode as a voltage stabilizer. The latter feature enables its
application for compensation of dips coming from the supplying network. The simulation results show that the performance
of DSTATCOM system has been found to be satisfactory for improving the power quality at the consumer premises.
DSTATCOM control algorithm is flexible and it has been observed to be capable of correcting power factor to unity,
eliminate harmonics in supply currents and provide load balancing. It is also able to regulate voltage at PCC. The control
algorithm of DSTATCOM has an inherent property to provide a self-supporting DC bus of DSTATCOM. It has been found
that the DSTATCOM system reduces THD in the supply currents for non-linear loads. Rectifier-based non-linear loads
generated harmonics are eliminated by DSTATCOM. When single-phase rectifier loads are connected, DSTATCOM
currents balance these unbalanced load currents.
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